Birmingham earthquake: what really happened?

People across Birmingham and the West Midlands have been reacting to the earthquake that struck on Monday at 11pm (February 21).

The British Geological Society confirmed that a 2.8 magnitude earthquake struck the West Midlands.

The quake hit Walsall at a depth of seven kilometres (4.35 miles) with the effects felt at a 20km radius and tremors detected by people in Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Dudley.

Liam Moakes in Sutton Coldfield said: “I was watching TV and then suddenly there was an extremely loud bang and movement of the ground which almost threw me off the sofa.

“My initial thoughts were that a car may have crashed into our house. After having a look around and being unable to see anything untoward, it was actually with some relief that a few minutes later I saw #BirminghamEarthquake trending on Twitter.

“At least I had an explanation!”

Louise in Birmingham tweeted: “Did anyone else’s house just shake? Felt like a little earthquake.”

West Midlands-based award-winning travel journalist Laura Sanders said: “I mean first Covid, then three storms in a row, now an earthquake in Birmingham? Am I in an apocalyptic film?”

Labour MP for Birmingham Yardley Jess Phillips quipped: “In living memory there have been two earthquakes in Birmingham. Both times I have received late-night calls to ask if I felt it, on both occasions I was out of the city…coincidence?”

Another Twitter user mocked GMB presenter Susanna Reid for asking the show’s weather presenter if the earthquake was related to Storm Eunice and Storm Franklin.

And a local policeman told how he thought the earthquake was actually someone knocking on his window!

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. BirminghamWorld is Birmingham’s latest news website, championing everything that is great about our city - reporting on news, lifestyle and sport. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook,Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going.